The last few months have seen the opening of a downtown Ypsilanti office of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and the Ypsilanti Running Company on W. Michigan Ave., and that's being viewed as a sign that people understand the value of being in downtown Ypsi.
That's the assessment of Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority director Tim Colbeck, who says the evidence of an uptick in downtown occupancy rates is mainly anecdotal, but the future certainly looks bright.
"There's a lot of really good discussion, and there's a lot of people who are coming in who haven't been here in Ypsilanti before," Colbeck says. "Investors, real estate developers, new businesses that maybe were in another community or have had other opportunities and are really, seriously looking at Ypsilanti as an option now and saying 'it really makes sense. We should be here'."
Colbeck says the DDA has been working with the city, the Eastern Leaders Group and other organizations to make the downtown as attractive as possible, including hanging art in vacant storefront windows.
Colbeck says rather than attract attention to a potential eyesore, the art helps promote good downtown locations to potential tenants.
He says he's excited to see what the next six months to a year bring for downtown Ypsilanti.